Bella Cullen
by Princess Briar Rose
Summary: What if Esme was the first person Carlisle ever changed? What if Bella and Alice became such good friends she was changed and accepted into the Cullen family in her own right? Let's see...
1. Chapter 1

**Bella Cullen**

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters.

**Chapter 1**

The first day of school is never easy, but starting in the second semester of senior year was going to be much harder than usual. Moving in with my dad was my only choice after my mother and stepfather were in a car crash on Thanksgiving's eve. Being the new girl always caused a stir, but in the small town of Forks, who knew how big that stir may be?

As I drove my, brand new, old truck into the lot, I saw every student's eyes turn toward the loud, obnoxious sound that my truck's engine created. I tried to keep my eyes on the road, not acknowledging any of the nosy students, but a small, beautiful creature caught my eye.

I had to shake myself out of the daze she caused and I quickly parked my truck and went to the office of Forks High to get my schedule. My first class was English with Mr Mason so I quickly looked for building 3.

Not looking to draw attention to myself any more that I could help, I arrived to class early and spoke to the teacher quietly, he directed me to an apparently empty seat in the center back of the class. I kept my head down and began reading a novel, my constant escape from reality.

I always read like a fiend, trading a fantasy for a sci-fi novel as soon as I had finished; a medical drama next, then a horror. I always had to have a new book to read when I finished the last, and so Forks was a disappointment in that the only library was the school's and there were no decent bookshops within a 20 mile radius.

I used to love period romances, but romance became the only genre I avoided after the accident. My mother's relationship with her husband always seemed akin to those classics and reading them made me think way too much about them.

Soon enough the class was full, and beginning. The teacher saw fit to introduce me to the class, despite my obvious mortification.

"Class, this is Isabella Swan. She just moved here to live with her father, Chief Swan. I trust you will all make her feel welcome."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a small mass of black shaking vigorously, and soon determined that it was the small girl I had seen from my car this morning, nodding her head in affirmation. She saw me looking at her and turned to me, speaking in a low, but fast and excited voice.

"Hi, I'm Alice Cullen! I'm so glad we're sitting next to each other, now we can be the best of friends" She beamed at me, making my breath catch in my throat. "So, do you like to be called Isabella or something else? I've only ever known an Isabel but she liked her name, maybe you don't, I don't know."

Although I did not want to make ties in this town, her excitement was infectious. "Bella" I said.

"So why are you starting here this late into your senior year? I mean that is a bit strange. But I guess you have a good reason. You don't have to tell me if you don't want, I'm so nosy sometimes. Sorry about that. Look, the point is that if you need, I can lend you my notes from the rest of the year."

As I struggled to process all that she had just murmured, I mumbled answers to each of her questions in turn.

"Um, my mom died at Thanksgiving. I had to come live with my dad. Yeah, thanks, notes would be great."

She seemed pleased at the thought that she could be helpful and sat back. We had already gotten a 'look' from the teacher and I did not want to upset him on my first day.

I soon discovered that Alice was in a few of my classes and by chance, I sat next to her; apparently hers was the only desk free. We fast became friends, and I met the rest of the family. At first I had a hard time keeping up with who was related to whom and who was dating whom, but in the end, it didn't matter. They were my friends, the only ones that I'd had my whole life that really cared about who I was and what I wanted.

Rosalie was the most beautiful creature, probably in existence, and she knew it. But despite that, she had a deep passion for those she cared about; this was a side of her most people never got to see. She taught me about cars. Sometimes me, her and Alice would have girly sleepovers and whether it was at Charlie's house or theirs, I always felt included, no matter the fact that Alice and Rosalie had known each other for much longer than they had known me. She would come along as moral support when I couldn't think of an excuse not to go shopping with Alice.

Emmett, Rosalie's boyfriend, was like the big brother I never had. He watched sports, talked cars with Rose and played computer and console games like they were about to disappear. He was brilliant at knowing when I was thinking about things I wanted to avoid, always ready to distract me with a dumb joke or stupid stunt. He believed it was his mission to play practical jokes, him against the world. Us girls were often the brunt of it, but between the three of us and even Esme sometimes, we always got him back.

Esme was the kind and caring mother that I'd never had. Although I loved who my mother had been, I was the parental figure in that relationship and so having Esme care for me was like a breath of fresh air. I never resented her role as a mother figure because she was so different from my own mother, it never felt like an intrusion.

Carlisle always seemed to me like the perfect family man. He loved and doted on his children, even though they were adopted; he took time to spend time with his wife, making sure that someone was taking care of her after all the care she spent on others; he even was an extremely successful doctor. I used to wonder how he managed to fit everything in, but of course, the joke was on me.

Jasper; wonderful, calming, thoughtful Jasper. He always knew when I was beginning to panic. When my thoughts became too much for me, he would distract me from my own mind. Really, when it comes to Jasper, words cannot describe the value of his friendship. He introduced me to a whole new world of fiction, and music. Spending time with him was never awkward, no matter how silent we were; spending time with him meant peace.

Of course, Alice was my very best friend. She showed up unannounced as if she knew that I had a night of wallowing in self pity and Ben and Jerry's planned; she gave me advice when I was trying to fend off Mike Newton; she saved Charlie the humiliation of helping me shower when I broke my leg in three places, when I humiliatingly tumbled down the bleachers in the gym after fetching a shuttlecock which had flown awry in gym. Never had I had a friend better than Alice, and I thought that even before I found out what she was; what they all were.

Of course I had read Dracula, but nothing prepared me for one night, when I arrived for what I thought was a sleepover, to see them all sitting quite formally in the lounge room. The most suspicious thing, though, was that Emmett was not glued to the TV; it was not even on.

"Bella", said Alice. "We need you to come sit down." Although extremely suspicious, I did. I looked at the others; Rosalie looked anxious, Emmett amused as always, Jasper suspicious, Esme worried and Carlisle pensive.

"Bella" she said again. My head snapped back to her, still suspicious but mostly bewildered and worried. "Look, I'm just going to out and get straight to it because I know that you won't take kindly to being lead down the garden path. You know we're different, don't you?"

I nodded. Of course I had noticed. As it was, it was hard enough being around people like Alice and Rosalie who are so beautiful and graceful, but after I met the boys, I was dumbstruck. Even the big, burly, bear of a man, Emmett was more beautiful and graceful than me.

"Can you tell me what you noticed?" Carlisle asked.

"You all have pale, cold skin, dark shadows under the eyes, incredible strength. I can tell that you have much more strength that you let on, and speed, same with speed." I knew I was close to incoherence, but I was speaking as I put, previously unconnected, facts together. "Oh yeah, your eyes change colour, and Emmett gets really grouchy when his are black. Actually Rosalie does too." She shot me a look, so I changed tracks. "Jasper always seems to know when I need cheering up and Alice always seems to know things in advanced." I was silent for a moment, thinking over my time spent in the Cullen mansion. "You know, come to think of it, I've hardly seen any of you eat or drink or sleep." I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of what it was trying to tell me.

Alice was looking pleased and bouncing in her chair. She was very obviously excited. I raised one eyebrow at her, waiting for her to continue. She just gave me a look that said I was missing something. Then it dawned on me.

"When you said different, you don't mean within known human boundaries, do you?"

She perked to look, impossibly, happier and nodded encouragingly.

"Are you trying to tell me you're a family of superheroes or something?" I looked at Emmett and Rose. Emmett seemed pleased with being called a superhero, Rose looked less pleased. I asked for an explanation of her expression with a look.

She sighed and said, "What if we're not the heroes? What if we're the bad guys?"

I laughed at that. "There is no way you are villains, you're all way too awesome. Except maybe Emmett" I threw in playfully.

Emmett pouted and everyone but Rose laughed at his ridiculous expression. I glanced quizzically at Rosalie again and this time she sighed and just said it. "Bella, we're vampires."


	2. Chapter 2

**Bella Cullen**

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters

**Chapter 2**

As I sat there in shock, my mind was doing a small 'told you so dance' in front of my eyes. It made sense, but questions such as how and when were pushed aside as I blurted, "why are you telling me now?"

They all looked at Alice, who for once, looked unsure of herself. "Some of us have powers. Um, I can, er, tell the future."

I was speechless. Although the existence of supernatural powers was by far the most difficult thing to process, it was not the first thing that came out. "You can tell the future and you didn't warn me that day that Newton, Yorkie and Crowley all asked me out?"

Everyone just laughed. I knew that they would never lie to me, meaning that the only logical explanation was that they were telling me the truth. With the tension diffused, I became serious. "You guys haven't eaten me though. I thought Alice might have last year when I got the flu the day before prom, but she didn't. Not even then."

"Bella, we think of you as one of us; part of the family. We couldn't hurt you." said Carlisle. He looked certain, but then seemed to reconsider his statement. "Actually, that is what we have to talk to you about."

"When you and Alice graduate, it will be time for us to move on. Because we live among humans, we have to move around before anyone realizes that we don't age. Alice has had a vision of you joining us, being part of our family, becoming like us, but you are the only one who can make that decision, and we want you to be totally informed about what you could be getting into."

I sat in a stunned silence. _Become one of them?_ Although I love them all, I knew that there was more to this decision. I decided that I would learn all I could before making this huge, life altering choice. And so the rest of the night was spent with the family, just talking about their experiences.

Of course, there was nowhere near enough time to hear everyone's stories, but in between studying for my finals, because of course the vampires didn't need to study, I heard all about their lives and afterlives, about being turned and all the abilities and restrictions that vampirism afforded them.

In spending all my time with them, I became used to their vampiric traits; their speed, strength and stillness; their lack of eating, drinking and sleeping; the abnormal hearing, plus Jasper's mood influencing and Alice's visions. I already had a room at the Cullen's and after finals and graduation, I could spend as much time at their house as I liked. Of course, soon enough after that, I would be heading off to college. The Cullens had offered me a fake scholarship, should I choose not to accept their offer of becoming a part of their family, and so, either way, college it was; as a cover story, or in reality.

My sleepovers with Alice and Rosalie became much more full and rich experiences, since I now knew their secret, and they no longer had to hide that aspect of themselves. I had never known all that they had, could and would do for me until I knew what they were, and frankly, when I found out, I was appalled in some ways and relieved in others. They eased my fears about each path I could take, while never letting me forget the gravity of the situation.

And so, I had a huge amount of thinking to do. I knew that if I chose to go to college and live a human life, I would never again see my wonderful vampire friends. I also knew that if I chose my vampires, I would never see my father or other friends again, that they would all soon die, and I would be left to live well past any natural lifetime. With that choice came the impossibility of children, or of growing old with someone, but a much greater chance of finding my someone. I would have longer to reflect and remember my mother and Phil, but also longer to come to terms with the tragedy, and maybe one day, find some peace.

I ranted this to Alice one day in the car on the way to Seattle. She had decided to drag me up there to buy me a prom outfit, partly as payback for last years flu- as if I had any control over it! She just grinned and nodded as I spoke way too fast, and flung my hands all around the small space, gesturing to make my point. She, of course, knew that this was an important decision, which I was not taking lightly, but she still found it amusing when I got flustered. But as always, Alice- the wise and all knowing- bestowed her wisdom on me; wisdom that was the last that I expected from her.

"Bella, just wait. There will come a point when you will know. Just enjoy yourself until then." And with that, we were at the mall.

_Let the torture begin_

And so, I was dragged around by Alice to every store she deemed relevant. First to the lingerie store, then the makeup store, then the shoe store and finally, any shop she could see which sold any kind of accessory. Of course she went overboard, buying the most expensive of anything, and always more than we would ever use. For me, of course, she had to get shaping corsetry for under my dress; the dress, I soon learnt, was not at the mall. She almost get her way insisting that I get some red and lacy monstrosity, but I won that argument on the grounds that I wouldn't use it for just anyone, and since I hadn't found a special someone yet, I would burn it if she insisted on buying it. Of course, if I had cited any other reason, she would have snuck it in anyway, but I knew Alice very well by now and there is nothing she hates more than violence toward fashion. I could only imagine what would happen if she wore fur and had paint thrown on it.

When Alice had got shoes, lingerie, bags, jewelery and make up to outfit a week long fashion show, instead of just a highschool prom in Forks, we hauled all our bags to the car and Alice drove to a small looking boutique in the expensive part of town.

The name Perrine Bruyere was written across the top of boutique in elegant, cursive letters. Alice walked in as if she owned the place and asked for "the dresses". We left quickly and went back to the mansion.

We arrived back at the house and Rosalie accosted us. "Has she seen it yet?" Alice shook her head. "Then what are we waiting for?"

They went up the stairs ahead of me at vampire speed, a sure sign that they were both excited. I followed grudgingly, not quite ready to be their doll yet, but my fears were misplaced. The dress was a beautiful, simple yet elegant marriage of frills, lace and ruffles in a perfect royal blue. There was no doubt that, in true Cullen style, it was over the top, but it was perfect for me.

And so, the next few hours were spent getting ready for prom. Alice, naturally, was ready and perfect in what seemed like seconds, but they took much longer getting me ready. Rosalie couldn't come as she was supposed to be off at college, but the story was that Emmett had come back to escort me to prom. Jasper was already there.

Of course, it was the hell I had delighted in missing because of that flu, but Alice had this strange idea that I had to experience everything humanity had to offer. Unfortunately that included prom.

Bad decorations in the Forks High gym; bad food and bad punch, not to mention the terrible music; all 90's pop! I was officially in aural hell. Luckily Jasper could sense my pain and convinced Alice to let us ditch.

We picked up some takeaway for me and had a prom in the Cullen's lounge room. As it turned out, Alice didn't get just 2 dresses, but 4; one each for Esme and Rosalie too. She called to warn them that we were coming home and by the time we arrived, they were dressed, as was Carlisle.

We had good music and I was flown around the dance floor by whirling vampires; I loved it all. I think that no one had a better prom.

AN: I was aiming for a chapter every 24 hrs but that got busted.

Hope you enjoy it :)

Thankyou for all your reviews and story alerts.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters, or the excerpts from Eclipse and Breaking Dawn that I borrowed/cannibalized. I will freely admit that about a 1/3 of this chapter is from Breaking Dawn, but I couldn't say what I needed any better than Stephanie Meyer did.

**Chapter 3**

Soon after prom, it was finals time. Of course I studied my butt off, but I didn't think I did very well; which was why it was such a surprise when I passed with flying colours. I asked Alice about it, but she refused to comment. I love my vampires, but did I really need that much help? Plus, if I'd known they were going to get my grades changed anyway, I wouldn't have worked so hard; maybe spent more time on the rules and regulations I would have to abide by, should I choose their way of life.

And so, graduation and the obligatory 'momma's not here' breakdown passed and it was time to remind Charlie about my moving away to Dartmouth. New Hampshire was, hopefully, far enough away that, should I choose to become a vampire, I could fake illnesses to get out of coming home for the holidays, but Charlie had still not fully grasped the fact that going to Dartmouth also meant a 3000 mile move away from him.

Although he took it better than I expected, he made me promise to keep in touch. As I set his dinner on the table on my way out the door to the Cullens, he stopped me.

_Flashback_

I put Charlie's dinner on the table next to his elbow and headed for the door.

"Er, Bella? Could you wait just a second?"

"Did I forget something?" I asked, eyeing his plate.

"No, no. I just . . . want to ask a favor." Charlie frowned and looked at the floor. "Have a seat - this won't take long."

I sat across from him, a little confused. I tried to focus. "What do you need, Dad?"

"Here's the gist of it, Bella." Charlie flushed. "Maybe I'm just feeling . . .worried . . . about college or something. But I have this . . . hunch. I feel like . . . I'm going to lose you soon."

"Don't be silly, Dad," I mumbled guiltily. "You want me to go to school, don't you?"

"Just promise me one thing."

I was hesitant, ready to rescind. "Okay . . ."

"Will you tell me before you do anything major? I just don't want to wake up one day and realize that I don't know you."

"Dad . . . ," I moaned.

"I'm serious. Just please tell me if you're planning something that might mean we can't see each other for a while. Just give your old man a chance to hug you goodbye."

Cringing mentally, I held up my hand. "This is silly. But, if it makes you happy, . . . I promise."

"Thanks, Bella," he said. "I love you, kid."

_End Flashback_

There was no way he really knew what he was saying, but that conversation really hit home for me. I had to make a decision, and soon.

For me, the hardest part of making a decision is weighing the pros and cons. When I make a decision, I stick with it, but the choosing was agony. Or so I thought at the time. The real agony was yet to come.

I always wonder if my vampires could have known by listening to his heart beat. I'm sure that Alice could have seen it if she looked for it. But for all my supernatural help, no one predicted Charlie's heart attack.

I awoke in the middle of the night to find him in the hallway, just lying where he fell. I think he had been trying to get to me, but he never made it.

Of course, an ambulance was just a formality. There was nothing they could do; he was gone before they arrived. Carlisle got himself assigned to the case, checked for traces of other vampires or something; anything that meant that I could not have helped him, but we both knew in our hearts that if I had just woken earlier, if I had just not gone to sleep yet, maybe he would still be alive.

Those next few days were one huge hell. As soon as the news spread, every town resident and his dog had to come and give me his condolences. Although some I knew were his close friends, even then I could hardly concentrate on their faces, let alone their names. I was plied with so much food that I would never eat and got so many cards and flowers and money that there was hardly room in the house for me anymore. Really, though, that was just an excuse. I did not want to stay in the house where Charlie had died.

And hence, I was an orphan. Luckily I was already 18 or things could have gotten messy. Charlie had left me everything he had, so even if I stayed human, I would be alright for money, but the hole that was left was something that could not fill. I had lost my daddy.

At the end of a week, after Charlie's funeral, I locked the house and left for what turned out to be the last time. I marched into the Cullen's living room and called a family meeting.

"OK, now, I don't want to do it here or now, but once we all get our affairs in order, I want to do this. I want to become like you."

"Are you sure, dear?" said Esme, ever the caring mother; thinking nothing of her desire to have another daughter, but only what was best for me.

"Aside from the fact that I have nothing left, you yourselves said that it was a risk for me to choose to remain human because of the Volturi. If they found out, I'd be dead or changed anyway, so I'd like to do it on my own terms."

It was Carlisle who spoke this time. "You seem to have thought this out logically, but what does your heart tell you?"

I paused for a moment, trying to put my feelings into words. "I can't lose another family member, and you guys are all the family I have left." With that I burst into tears, and found myself comforted, to my surprise, by Emmett.

"Shh, shh. It's OK. We're here for you. We're here." He just sat with me on his lap, whispering to calm me down. I felt a wave of calm come over me, but stopped Jasper.

"Jasper, I still need to be awake."

He nodded and I felt the calm that suppressed my emotions lift. I nodded my thanks.

Alice saw that my outbreak was over and so perked up again, in a way that only Alice can. "So we're going to have a new sister?" I laughed, and although I knew I looked terrible, everyone seemed so happy. I knew that these people would be my family from now until forever and that thought cheered me to no end. I nodded vigorously and everyone laughed along with us. The joy in the room was overwhelming.

So from then I lived at their house. Emmett and Jasper had gone back to Charlie's to get all my things and we set everything up in what had always, unofficially, been my room. Every night was a sleepover with Alice and Rosalie, and sometimes Esme even joined in. Every day was either a chance to play a practical joke on Emmett, or was vampire lessons. We all decided that it was best that I not be turned in Forks and that I would defer my place at Dartmouth for a year or two.

I had discovered, in one of my vampire lessons with Carlisle, that he had never changed a healthy person. Worried that by being an exception, I would break some rule that he had with himself, I asked why he had agreed to change me.

He considered for a moment. "One reason is Alice's vision." I had not heard exactly what this vision contained, so I was eager to hear more. I think Carlisle sensed that and so continued. "She saw you becoming a vampire, as you know, and that you would stay with us and be one of our family. She saw that if that happened, you would become highly educated, not to mention useful to the family. When she told me, I considered refusing to change you because you have your whole life ahead of you and would be leaving family behind. With that decision, the vision changed. She saw three options. The first was that you would become severely depressed and make an attempt on your own life." I was horrified at the thought, but quickly realized that if my father had died and the Cullens had abandoned me, I may well have. "The second was that another vampire would turn you, we would most likely not see you for a very long time. The third was that in attempting to turn you, the other vampire would accidentally kill you." I was horrified at either of the last two options. "But the reason that swayed me the most is that I love you. I couldn't want for a better daughter. Except for the two I already have." He smiled warmly at me.

All I could say was, "Thank you so much Carlisle."

We spoke much more about my impending transformation and in the end it was decided that we would got to Denali, Alaska, to make the change. They had vegetarian friends there and it was isolated enough that should I attempt to go on a murderous rampage, most likely, someone could catch me before I did any harm. So we packed the mansion and left.

Denali was cold. We got a house near Tanya, Kate, Irena, Eleazar and Carmen. Although, at first I was intimidated by them, we soon became my friends. I was glad that I would have such wonderful people around me when I changed.

Soon the day was upon us. I felt that I was as ready as I would ever be, and so, I lay down on the chaise lounge that was graciously provided, and prepared to die

Carlisle injected me with as much morphine as he thought was safe and whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry", before biting down on my jugular vein.

The pain was bewildering.

Exactly that—I was bewildered. I couldn't understand, couldn't make sense of what was happening.

My body tried to reject the pain, and I was sucked again and again into a blackness that cut out whole seconds or maybe even minutes of the agony, making it that much harder to keep up with reality.

I tried to separate them.

Non-reality was black, and it didn't hurt so much.

Reality was red, and it felt like I was being sawed in half, hit by a bus, punched by a prize fighter, trampled by bulls, and submerged in acid, all at the same time.

Reality was feeling my body twist and flip when I couldn't possibly move because of the pain.

Reality was knowing there was something so much more important than all this torture, and not being able to remember what it was.

The warmth beside my heart got more and more real, warmer and warmer. Hotter. The heat was so real it was hard to believe that I was imagining it.

Hotter.

Uncomfortable now. Too hot. Much, much too hot.

Like grabbing the wrong end of a curling iron—my automatic response was to drop the scorching thing in my arms. But there was nothing in my arms. My arms were not curled to my chest. My arms were dead things lying somewhere at my side. The heat was inside me.

The burning grew—rose and peaked and rose again until it surpassed anything I'd ever felt.

I felt the pulse behind the fire raging now in my chest and realized that I'd found my heart again, just in time to wish I never had. To wish that I'd embraced the blackness while I'd still had the chance. I wanted to raise my arms and claw my chest open and rip the heart from it—anything to get rid of this torture. But I couldn't feel my arms, couldn't move one vanished finger.

The fire blazed hotter and I wanted to scream. To beg for someone to kill me now, before I lived one more second in this pain. But I couldn't move my lips. The weight was still there, pressing on me.

I realized it wasn't the darkness holding me down; it was my body. So heavy. Burying me in the flames that were chewing their way out from my heart now, spreading with impossible pain through my shoulders and stomach, scalding their way up my throat, licking at my face.

Why couldn't I move? Why couldn't I scream? This wasn't part of the stories.

My mind was unbearably clear—sharpened by the fierce pain—and I saw the answer almost as soon as I could form the questions.

The morphine.

It seemed like a million deaths ago that we'd discussed it—Carlisle and I.

Carlisle had hoped that enough painkillers would help fight the pain of the venom. Carlisle had tried with Emmett, but the venom had burned ahead of the medicine, sealing his veins. There hadn't been time for it to spread.

Because I'd had morphine and venom together in my system before, and I knew the truth. I knew the numbness of the medicine was completely irrelevant while the venom seared through my veins. But there'd been no way I was going to mention that fact. Nothing that would make him more unwilling to change me.

I hadn't guessed that the morphine would have this effect—that it would pin me down and gag me. Hold me paralyzed while I burned.

I knew all the stories. I knew that Carlisle had kept quiet enough to avoid discovery while he burned. I knew that, according to Rosalie, it did no good to scream. And I'd hoped that maybe I could be like Carlisle. That I would believe Rosalie's words and keep my mouth shut.

Now it seemed like a hideous joke that I was getting my wish fulfilled.

If I couldn't scream, how could I tell them to kill me?

All I wanted was to die. To never have been born. The whole of my existence did not outweigh this pain. Wasn't worth living through it for one more heartbeat.

Let me die, let me die, let me die.

And, for a never-ending space, that was all there was. Just the fiery torture, and my soundless shrieks, pleading for death to come. Nothing else, not even time. So that made it infinite, with no beginning and no end. One infinite moment of pain.

The only change came when suddenly, impossibly, my pain was doubled. The lower half of my body, deadened since before the morphine, was suddenly on fire, too. Some broken connection had been healed—knitted together by the scorching fingers of the flame.

The endless burn raged on.

It could have been seconds or days, weeks or years, but, eventually, time came to mean something again.

Three things happened together, grew from each other so that I didn't know which came first: time restarted, the morphine's weight faded, and I got stronger.

I could feel the control of my body come back to me in increments, and those increments were my first markers of the time passing. I knew it when I was able to twitch my toes and twist my fingers into fists. I knew it, but I did not act on it.

Though the fire did not decrease one tiny degree—in fact, I began to develop a new capacity for experiencing it, a new sensitivity to appreciate, separately, each blistering tongue of flame that licked through my veins—I discovered that I could think around it.

I could remember why I shouldn't scream. I could remember the reason why I'd committed to enduring this unendurable agony. I could remember that, though it felt impossible now, there was something that might be worth the torture.

This happened just in time for me to hold on when the weights left my body. To anyone watching me, there would be no change. But for me, as I struggled to keep the screams and thrashing locked up inside my body, where they couldn't hurt anyone else, it felt like I'd gone from being tied to the stake as I burned, to gripping that stake to hold myself in the fire.

I had just enough strength to lie there unmoving while I was charred alive.

My hearing got clearer and clearer, and I could count the frantic, pounding beats of my heart to mark the time.

I could count the shallow breaths that gasped through my teeth.

I could count the low, even breaths that came from somewhere close beside me. These moved slowest, so I concentrated on them. They meant the most time passing. More even than a clock's pendulum, those breaths pulled me through the burning seconds toward the end.

I continued to get stronger, my thoughts clearer. When new noises came, I could listen.

There were light footsteps, the whisper of air stirred by an opening door. The footsteps got closer, and I felt pressure against the inside of my wrist. I couldn't feel the coolness of the fingers. The fire blistered away every memory of cool.

Through all this, the racking fire went right on burning me. But there was so much space in my head now. Room to ponder their conversation, room to remember what had happened, room to look ahead to the future, with still endless room left over to suffer in.

Ten thousand, nine hundred forty-three breaths later, a different set of footsteps whispered into the room. Lighter. More… rhythmic.

Strange that I could distinguish the minute differences between footsteps that I'd never been able to hear at all before today.

"How much longer?" Carlisle asked.

"It won't be long now," Alice told him.

"She's going to be dazzling."

Carlisle didn't answer, but Alice's words gave me hope that maybe I didn't resemble the charcoal briquette I felt like. It seemed as if I must be just a pile of charred bones by now. Every cell in my body had been razed to ash.

I heard Alice breeze out of the room. I heard the swish of the fabric she moved, rubbing against itself. I heard the quiet buzz of the light hanging from the ceiling. I heard the faint wind brushing against the outside of the house. I could hear everything.

Downstairs, someone was watching a ball game. The Mariners were winning by two runs.

I was now Bella Cullen.

**AN: So I feel kinda bad for killing off three people: Charlie, Renee and Phil, in as many chapters. I hope y'all can understand why it was necessary. I mean, when I'm writing from the point of view of Bella, I can't ignore the personality that Stephanie Meyer gave her. Bella would leave Charlie all alone for no one less than Edward, and as much as we love Alice, we all know it's true, right?**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

**Chapter 4**

Here, today, as I stand beside Rosalie for her 7th wedding to Emmett, I think back over my first few years as a vampire.

I couldn't tell Carlisle that the morphine didn't work, but I vowed that I would if ever Carlisle changed anyone else.

He was astounded, not only by my control, but also to my adaptation to the lifestyle. Alice, of course, knew exactly what was in store for me. Jasper loved being around me most of the time. I still had my fair share of grief over my family, but I was mostly happy because of my new one. We stayed in Denali for a few months but it was not as necessary as we first thought.

Eleazar's ability was to detect and classify the abilities of others and he surprised us all by telling me that I had an ability. Apparently, I was a shield. The only abilities that I had encountered were ones like Alice's and Jasper's. Eleazar explained that they were physical abilities, but that mine would block any mental powers. This was only the first of many new discoveries that came with my new self.

I discovered that I loved large cats, mainly lynx and mountain lions, and for me, hunting was a kind of peace. Since my transformation I had about 90% more brain capacity and so my mind could be a busy place.

Although Jasper had usually handled the public aspects of the family business, he ruled through supernatural fear. After I got my first degree through a correspondence course, in business, I took over. I found it fun to lure in potential clients or partners and though they thought that I was too young, or inexperienced, I always went for the kill. The fear I bestowed in anyone attempting to do business with our company found a formidable opponent in me. Between Alice's future-telling and the complacency I lulled any opponent into, we were unstoppable. Carlisle and Esme were very proud of me, and when we moved to New Hampshire, ironically, the place I was going to leave Charlie to go to anyway, they let me be the public face of the company, although this did not mean much in the way of public appearances, thank God!

I found that with my newfound grace, came an appreciation for clothes that I had never had before, which pleased Alice to no end. I still refused to go shopping with her, or to be her Barbie doll, but I cleaned up nice and sometimes even listened to her.

Today, I'm wearing something she designed. Really, though, I don't care what I'm wearing, I'm just staring across; past Alice and Rosalie and Emmett and Jasper to him. It is for him that my immortality finally has meaning.

Oh, Edward.

Many accounting firms hire interns and he was one such a man. Working for free on his spring break, he was trying to make a good impression so that they would offer him a job when he graduated, but it was hard for him. They didn't take him seriously and for a while I only knew him as 'gopher'.

Although we have a huge secret, our business dealings are all completely legitimate. Many vampires are involved in our many businesses, but we deemed it safe to have our accounts done by humans.

Alice had just set up a new business, a new fashion house out of New York, and we wished to have it run as if it was a new company with silent partner capital. This meant getting a new accounting firm for the job. We went to a preliminary meeting with the partners of the firm, as it was still a lot of money. I was being my cool, calm, deadly self and Alice was playing her part of distracted socialite/ fashion designer to a tee when I saw him. I was nodding to the senior partner's request before I registered what he was asking.

_Oh shit. Now I'm going to have to drink it. Bloody coffee..._

But when I realized that the green eyed, bronze haired angel would be bringing it to me, I wasn't so upset.

Alice was quite discreet about her visions, but I could always tell. Her eyes glazed over. When it was done, she spoke in a low, quick voice. "Ask him out, Bella."

My eyes bugged. "What?" I hissed at her.

All throughout the meeting, I was distracted. I drank my coffee, knowing that I would have to vomit it later, but knowing that if the plan that was hatching in my head was to work, I would have to order more.

We dragged out the meeting to allow me to execute my plan. When I felt that I was able, I motioned to get another coffee and quickly wrote a note.

_Great coffee. Like to come make coffee for me? Will you come to talk to me after?_

I was not used to being this forward; I was worried about being rejected. I never had any kind of relationship when I was human. What if this never worked?

He came to pour me more coffee and I made sure he saw my note.

I exuded calmness and coolness, but under my stone faced interior, I was as nervous as a schoolgirl.

I looked at Alice, who just smirked at me mysteriously. A logical part of my brain was saying that she wouldn't be doing that if the answer was no or maybe, but the rest was panicking.

I looked up.

EPOV

I think I could be happy with this beautiful woman. I don't know how I know, but it's almost as if I can see it before my eyes.

And here she was before my eyes. Asking me to speak to her. I nodded my assent.

**AN: so, failing dismally when it comes to posting at 1030am (local time) every day. For reference, it's now 8pm. But I did get it out today :D Sorry it's short. Busy day.**

**Just a shout out to anyone who wants to beta... I don't really care if you meet the criteria, but you'll have to meet mine... a pm would be great if you're interested.**

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or added me to any kind of alerts or ****favourites**** list.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

The meeting went quickly after that; I was in such a fluster. Alice tried to keep my head in the game, but I was past it.

At the end of the meeting, I nervously made my way through the crowd. Although to the humans, I looked as calm as usual, my superfluous stomach was full of nonexistent butterflies and I almost resented this human for his effect on me.

I breezed out of the board room and walked to him. For the first time since my transformation, I was lost for words.

He broke the silence, sparing me the awkwardness.

"I'm not quite sure what you were asking me before."

I started. He was being quite forward and I was so used to men being too intimidated to remember their own names in my presence.

I had expected much more time to think about what the hell I _was_ going to ask him.

_Bugger. Better wing it._

"I need a personal assistant." I spoke decisively and tried to remain aloof, but I knew that he could tell that I was bluffing. He raised his eyebrow.

"Right. So why me?"

_Oh shit. Think Bella!_

"You have it together. I have to go. Come to this address tonight after work. Is that agreeable?_"_

He nodded and to my great surprise, walked away and did not look back. I had just met my match.

I breezed out of the office with Alice, still playing her part of bored socialite, and got into the passenger side of the Porsche. As soon as Alice joined me, my voice reached a pitch that only dogs could hear.

"Oh my God! Alice! What am I going to do? I've invited him to our house! A human! He can't find out. Why did I do this? Why wasn't I thinking? Why didn't you stop me!? Oh God! I know I can be stupid, but this is a whole new level for me. But Alice, did you see his eyes?"

I realized that we had already left the office of the accountants, and the island of Manhattan. I apologized to Alice. No one should have to listen to me rant at that pitch.

"Bells, it's OK. Don't you think that if I had met Jasper when he was human, I would have been just as flustered? Worse, probably."

I laughed at the image of my tiny little pixie having a rant at a higher pitch than I had just reached; glasses and windows would smash, light fittings would rattle, electricity would short. Then I realized the full implications of what she had just said.

"You're comparing me and some guy I only know as 'gopher', to you and Jasper?"

"Bella, you really are clueless sometimes. What did you think you were feeling?"

"Frustration" I grumped at her.

I sat, brooding, for a few more minutes until I realized that Alice had slowed down to almost the speed limit.

"Cops?" I asked.

When she didn't answer, I looked over at her, realizing that she was having a vision.

_She must be so involved that she didn't even notice that she had slowed. _

I waited for her vision to finish and was about to ask what she had seen, when she beat me to it.

"His name is Edward Masen."

I thought about the name that matched the face that had not left my mind since the first moment I saw it.

"23 years old. Studying accounting at Dartmouth. There's something about his parents, but no matter how hard you push, he won't tell you about that. At least not tonight."

I was appalled. "Alice Cullen! Are you snooping on my future conversation with him?"

She grinned mischievously. "Maybe." When she saw my expression, she got serious, quick. "Yes, but I'm only doing it to help you, my dear sister."

We arrived back home then and I realized too late that Alice was going to tell everyone.

"Don't you dare Alice!" But it was too late. Emmett heard the commotion and would not let the subject drop.

I decided a preemptive strike was my best hope and so called out so that every vampire in the house could hear me. "Family meeting. Now."

Alice grumbled her way to the dining room. I waited until they were all seated. I stood at the head of the table and made my announcement. "Everyone. Alice thinks I'm in love. There, it's out there."

Rosalie's eyes bugged, Emmett laughed heartily, Jasper was concentrating; no doubt on my emotions, which at least at the moment, consisted of annoyance, Esme was happy that I may have found my someone, but Carlisle had the right reaction.

"Is he human?"

I nodded. I almost slipped back into daydreaming about his gorgeous green eyes, but was quickly snapped out of it when Alice started divulging all the information that she had learned through her supernatural eavesdropping.

"Whoa there! Alice, I don't even know if I like this guy. Just drop it."

Jasper spoke for the first time. "Liar" he muttered under his breath. When I shot him a look that would have most seasoned business professionals shaking in their boots, he elaborated. "You know what you feel. Stop being so afraid that he won't feel the same way."

"Your ability doesn't tell you the why's of emotions, Jasper." I shot back at him, very defensive.

"It doesn't need to, I know you well, my sister."

I sat down, defeated. "I can be scared." I whispered so quietly that even though the room was full of vampires, only those sitting closest to me, Carlisle and Jasper, heard.

I waved at Alice to indicate that I wouldn't rip her head off, damage her Porsche or set her wardrobe alight if she took over. "He's coming over tonight to interview to be Bella's personal assistant. It would be dangerous to have him take the position, since she doesn't eat and all, but we may be able to work something out. He's her destiny. We have to make it work."

I knew that with that little speech, she had most of the family wrapped around her little finger. Esme would do anything to make sure I had my happy ending; Emmett would identify with Edward, seeing as he was also handpicked to be the mate of a beautiful vampire; Jasper could sense how I felt and so would do anything to help my emotions along. Rosalie would side with me and whatever I felt I had to do, but Carlisle was my biggest ally. He and I had the same interests at the top of our lists of priorities; protect the family.

There was nothing more we could decide without more information, and so, Alice dressed and placed us all according to whatever vision she had seen working the best.

I fidgeted while I waited, first doing work on our latest business merger, eventually getting so nervous, I changed to playing patience on my laptop. Jasper sent a wave of calm to me, but I attempted a trick that Eleazar and Kate had been practicing with me last time I saw them. I tried to thicken and concentrate my shield by pulling all the threads close together over those glands that Jasper was targeting to induce calm. Although the trick was not perfect, I did get a laugh out of confusing him.

I bugged Alice every few minutes for an update on where he was and how far away he was, but even knowing that information didn't help. I was a wreck.

We had discussed what we would do when he arrived and it was decided that Carlisle would open it. It would give Carlisle a chance to size him up and decide what to do while I went through the motions of an interview. I just sat in my office and waited.

**AN: Ok, so I didn't mention that I wasn't going to post on the weekend. Well, now you know. I had the most hectic weekend anyway. Guests EVERYWHERE... Bloody screaming kids too... oh well. I did have fun cooking for everyone. Got some editing done too. If you want to check out my work, check out these 5 stories.**

**Dark and Twisty- Amber 90210**

**Vice Versa- Amber 90210**

**My Desire- TaraCullen1**

**The Adventures of Lilly Evans and James Potter- TaraCullen1**

**Eventide¬ Return to Dusk- **

**But really you should just check them out because they're all really really awesome... I have some pretty talented friends :)**

**I didn't get any reviews last chapter, except from Amber 90210, and like I said, she's my friend, so really, that's a bit pathetic. Please review people!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

I could hear his heart speed up as he approached the house. The house was really a mansion, one that Esme restored, and it could have been intimidating to some, to me it just felt like home.

Carlisle greeted him at the door, and he grew calmer when he was confronted by a 300 year old vampire. Who is this man? A normal response would be to panic at the sight of a vampire, but he grew more confident.

"Welcome to our home. Bella tells me she may have finally found a personal assistant that she can work with."

"Thank you sir, I hope so."

Carlisle ushered him into the family room and I breezed out of my office. Alice had dressed me in heels, a pencil skirt which hugged my hips perfectly and a silky, royal blue blouse with classic ruffles. I wore blood red lipstick and exuded confidence, thanks to Jasper.

Although I was attempting to intimidate him, I believe I more dazzled him. He stood in front of me, not speaking, just staring. This time it was up to me to break the silence.

"Thank you for coming at short notice. Please follow me to my office."

I still had no idea what I was going to do beyond going through the motions of an interview.

We sat and I asked him all about himself, his previous jobs, his strengths and his weaknesses. Although he answered all the questions eloquently and articulately, I could tell that he still had no idea why he was here. Neither did I, really. All I knew was that I had to find a way to get him into my life.

Though it would have seemed to Edward that I was giving him my full attention, I had more attention to spare than a human and through my brain was running through all the questions that I was facing with the realization that I needed him in my life. All the logistics of the relationship were a mystery and I couldn't even wrap my head around how we were going to work it all out, even with the extra room for wrapping.

_Would I turn him? Should I? Would he want to be turned? Should I even tell him? Would he want a relationship with me? _

The downward spiral of these questions had me getting depressed, so I snapped myself out of it and called the meeting to a close, finishing with, "I'll call you within 24 hours."

Alice showed him to the door and I flopped dramatically on to the couch.

"Ali! What am I going to do? What if he doesn't want me?"

Alice sat with me on the couch, stroking my hair.

Vampires are not often self conscious or anxious about the small thing, but at the moment I felt more like a teenage girl that I had when I was one.

I lay like that for too long, wallowing in self pity before Alice knew that I was calmed enough to hear what she had to say.

"I know you're scared, but that is no reason to project on to him."

I nodded into her lap, still too raw for words.

"We need a plan."

I nodded again.

Carlisle spoke up. "I think that you should hire him to be your assistant. The way you went about it means that is the only option."

"OK" I nodded.

I took a bath to clear my head and then set out to draft a list of duties. I had Rosalie help me with this as I had no idea what those duties would be, but I finally got it done, just as the sun came up. I had to hunt and then at 7am, I called his cell.

"Edward Masen"

"Edward, it's Bella Cullen. I'd like to offer you the job. How long until I can expect you at work?"

**AN: OK, so it's short today but I woke up with some super cold- NOT swine flu- so I'm kinda not really working at 100% today.**

**I promise I'll get Bella's feelings together soon enough.**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

Sitting in the lounge with Alice, we worked together to formulate a plan that would _not_ end badly. I would make a decision and Alice would tell me the outcome as far as she could see.

We spent over an hour doing this, never finding out results further than a week away, even for the best ideas.

"There is something we are missing, Bella. There has to be."

"Oh my God!" I said. "For someone who was planning to go to Dartmouth just 5 years ago, I really don't know their breaks at all! He's only on spring break. He goes back soon."

With that revelation, we began factoring these things into all my decisions, but we soon discovered that no choice would lead to a relationship.

Telling him of our family and their abilities would lead him to walk away. He would walk, so it was likely that he wasn't afraid of us, but he walk leave, nevertheless. Alice's visions only the showed the what, not the why.

I couldn't interfere with his college, but by only requiring him out of college hours meant that he would work harder to keep our relationship professional, for fear of losing the job.

Any variation on either of these, or a combination, had similar results. Then I had an idea.

"Alice, I'm going to try something new. Let me know how this turns out."

I made my decision concrete and she nodded.

"You have an amazing aptitude for languages, Bella. The Japanese is a nice touch."

I knew my smile was smug, but I couldn't wipe it from my face. The rest of the family watched with curiosity, waiting for an explanation but neither Alice or I said anything. Emmett broke first.

"What is the plan?" He sat impatiently, leaning forward and uncharacteristically, for a vampire, bouncing his legs.

"I'm going to college!"

"Hell yeah!" said Emmett. "Can I come too?"

We all looked at Alice. Her eyes clouded and she looked into the future. A future where my bear of big brother would be coming to college with me. This suddenly didn't sound like a very good idea.

Alice nodded! _Oh crap!_

"But Emmett, I swear to God, if you screw this up for her, you will have BOTH of us to deal with for the rest of eternity. Got it?"

He nodded, and then saw Rose's face and got truly scared. We all laughed at him and he stayed silent.

I suddenly became very nervous. "So, I'm going to do this?"

Alice nodded.

"I've never really come close to feeding on a human, even in a crowded conference room. But college, that will be different, won't it?"

They had all been to college numerous times, so I had no doubt that I would get enough advice. I just wished that I had been able to go to college when I felt I was ready.

"Just focus on your studies and Edward. You'll be fine." said Rosalie. I knew then that she was with Alice and I if Emmett ever screwed it up for me, but I didn't think he would. Despite the pranks and the jokes and everything, he was a great brother.

I began to think about what I needed to do to prepare and Alice squealed.

"This is going to be the most fun I've had since prom! Now, who else wants to go to Dartmouth? We need to know now if we're going to get a house big enough."

We all decided to go,including Esme and Carlisle, but to keep the house we had as a getaway house. Having a house close to campus would be great, but we needed a base to hunt from and a place to be our sanctuary from having to pretend we're human. And there was no doubt in my mind that Alice would organize a huge party there at some point.

Esme would do another course in Architecture and Interior Design. She needed the paperwork so that she could be accredited, and although we had people who could easily forge it, she thought that it was about time to learn what was new in her field.

Carlisle decided to change his specialization to paediatrics, and so registered to do his specialist degree at the medical school.

Rosalie was doing an engineering and design degree with the hope that she could design and build a car in our garage from scratch. She figured that she wouldn't have to get all the equipment to beat the panels into shape, but that she could do it with her hands.

Emmett was a bit more of a surprise. He did biology so that he could work in cancer research. Although there was no way we could get cancer, Emmett was always conscious of the people around us, even if we didn't interact with them. He was the one who had the hardest time with when people died. When you live forever, people dying when they have a full life is something that we have to deal with, but dying before that time was difficult for Emmett to understand, which was strange considering that had Rosalie not saved him, he would have died before his time. Maybe it was his experiences that caused him to think about human mortality more than any of us but Carlisle had.

Alice was studying art history and women's studies, thinking that it would help her with her fashion, she was also going to study French, even though she was already fluent, probably more so that the lecturer. Jasper was going to do his PhD in psychology.

And then there was me. The plan that we had come up with was that I would study French (major) and Japanese (minor). I would take electives in international studies and business, as many as I could to coincide with Edward.

Alice would have to watch the weather for us, and tell us when we could go to class, and when we had to skip; she assured us that we were clear for the first week. Although we probably didn't need to worry, we did make sure that we could watch any missed lectures on the internet and we decided on a cover story for any missed group sessions. Our grandfather was very ill and we had all moved here to be closer to him.

Our cover for starting in the middle of the semester was that we were transferred from Harvard because we had to move states. We were posing as an extended family; Emmett, Esme, Alice and I were cousins and Rosalie, Carlisle and Jasper were the significant others who got dragged along.

All I had to do now was get through the week before classes started with Edward as my personal assistant. I knew now, though, that I was irrevocably in love with him, and I would do whatever I needed to just to keep him in my life.

**AN: OK, so I have no idea if Dartmouth streams their lectures over the internet, but my uni does, so let's just pretend if necessary- really though, I'm interested to hear if any colleges in the US do that... I mean, why wouldn't they, but maybe they just don't... anyway... stop me rambling at any time people! lol...**

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

Alice had warned me that if I tried to pursue a personal relationship with Edward while he was in the role of my personal assistant, that he would back away; he had too good a work ethic to have a relationship with his boss, which although meant that he was a man of great integrity, it also made things harder.

He was the perfect employee. When I went to get new furniture for my office in the new house, he gave honest opinions and helped me weigh the pros and cons of whatever piece of furniture we were choosing at the time. I began to rely on his opinion more and more.

But when it came time to buy all the technology, I took control. We went to a place that I knew that sold custom computers and built them for you to your specifications. The salesperson had a name tag identifying him as 'C#'. I immediately go his attention, most probably because I'm female.

I began telling him that I wished for a state of the art system and was interrupted by his excited word vomit. He began talking excitedly about all sorts of systems when I stopped him and handed him a list, written in my elegant hand.

_5TB solid state hard drives_

_Liquid cooling system_

_640W power supply_

_Custom case_

_Gestural User Interface Wall Mounted Touch Screen_

_Top of the line graphics card, processor, motherboard, cords, DVD drives etc._

_FTP server_

His eyes bugged and his jaw dropped. Edward looked over C#'s shoulder and his face adopted the same expression. I think I had just beaten both of these computer nerds in an ultimate battle of the nerds. Then I topped it by ordering two of the best notebooks in the compact range.

I spared no cost in any case and had it all delivered to the house near Dartmouth, along with all the furniture we had ordered. Alice was taking care of the paint and textiles, but I still wanted to find a beautiful piece of art to hang in the office.

Although our family had no limit to the money we could spend, especially when it came to investments like art, I decided to commission a replica painted of Waterhouse's 'Circe Invidiosa'. This was a beautiful painting about Circe, the witch of Greek legend- the Iliad to be precise. In beautiful greens and blues, it reminded me of Edward's eyes.

We spent the week shopping and setting up like this. Edward and I worked in close proximity setting up the computers, notebooks and network. Alice loved our notebooks, and asked for one in pink. Then Rose decided she wanted one in red to match her car and we ended up buying some for the whole family.

Then it was time for classes.

Orientation was nonexistent as we were starting in the middle of the semester and I didn't see Edward for the whole day.

**AN: I am so so so sorry that this is up so late in the day. I didn't even start writing until 330pm today. I'm sooooooory. But, hey, it's up isn't it?**

**Sorry for all the nerding. I'll explain it all. Please ask if I miss anything.**

**- 5TB is usually stated as being 5000 GB, it's actually technically 5120 GB, but who's counting?**

**-Solid state is flash memory, so kinda like a REALLY big USB**

**-Liquid cooling system is necessary for solid state. Have you ever realized how USB's get hot when you use them a lot?**

**-640W power supply is some serious juice**

**-Gestural User Interface Wall Mounted Touch Screen is a name I made up but effectively it's what I'm calling the kind of screen that was on NCIS in the episode with Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. For those who haven't seen it, this is a huge touch screen which lets you hover just above the screen and uses specifically programmed gestures a bit like you would use a mouse, e.g. double click, click and drag, left click, right click etc.**

**-Graphics Card, Processor, Motherboard; all important pieces of the computer. Top of the line means best.**

**-File Transfer Protocol Server. Basically it's a hard drive bank connected to the internet. The point is that all the information about the Cullen's businesses around the world come to Bella via the internet and are stored in the hard drives for her to access. Anything from security footage from a medical research lab in Russia to the accounts information from a law firm in London. **

**Oh, and C****# is a programming language. That he has it on his name tag is as his handle- i.e. the name he uses on the internet in forums or in computer games.**

**I'm sorry it's so short, but I figured that getting something out was better than nothing.**

**Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

I spent most of my lectures writing books, mainly period romances. I figured that as long as I took a new pen name every 20 years, I could be an author in my spare time. Although I found college very different to school, it wasn't so different that I had any significant kind of adjusting to do, but I knew that this experience was different than my classmates would be experiencing.

I could not sleep in; get drunk or cram for exams- I have a photographic memory; Alice would never let me wear any form of track pants, ugg boots or hoodie in public or private; and going out with friends was impossible because clubbing turned our skin a very attention getting hue due to UV lighting, and we couldn't ingest food or coffee. Although I did drink a whole 2 cups of coffee to get Edward's attention, I would do it again for absolutely nothing less.

There was one experience that I was not missing out on though; the humiliation of the first relationship. I was no longer anywhere near as clumsy as I was as a human, not at all clumsy as it turns out, which is why I've no idea how I fell over at his feet in our very first class together.

"Ms Cullen! Are you OK?" Edward asked.

I had to pretend that I needed help up. "Oh, thank you Edward. Please, outside of work, call me Bella"

He nodded and sat next to me, opening his laptop on the desk. He only very occasionally needed to use the laptop that I bought him for work, so I had no problem with him using it for school too.

We sat, never talking about work. I knew that if we did we would bring our working relationship into our personal lives and I would lose my chance that I needed to convince him.

"Where did you grow up?" I asked him

"Chicago" he said, not being short, only not having more to say.

"What's it like, I've never been."

He smiled and spent 10 minutes just speaking of his childhood. He was an only child, but his mother stayed at home and always was there for him. His parents died hen he was just shy of his 18th birthday and although he wouldn't say anything more about it, I could tell it still caused him a lot of pain.

When class ended, I decided to take charge.

"Edward, don't you have a break now?"

He nodded, not knowing where this was going.

"Would you mind helping me with my Japanese homework, I know you speak it."

He laughed. "Oh, is that all? I thought it was going to be something hard. Or you were going to ask me to work on my lunch break."

I laughed with him and for a moment, he seemed distracted. He shook his head to clear it and then smiled again.

"Sure, let's go to the library."

My accent was better than his but not even my vampiric tendencies could teach me things I did not know.

We sat in the library for hours, I actually missed my Japanese class, but I maintain that Edward was better than the grumpy old man who was actually my teacher.

The time came that we actually got kicked out of the library, but I wasn't worried. We got in our cars and Edward came straight back to my place to get some work done. That's when I realized that I should have been worried. Edward was back to his usual stiff, businesslike self.

After he had left at 9pm, I went to help Alice with the samples for her latest line. I was pinned into a nymph inspired dress in the same colours in our circe painting.

"You're keeping this one. It looks better on you than it did when it was in concept, and that is saying a LOT!"

But I was too distracted. I let out a huge whine.

"Alice! I thought we made such progress!"

She took a split second to work out what on earth I was talking about.

"Bella, really! Did you think that he would just be your friend after one day? That he would trust that this job, that he is sure he must have conjured from his dreams, won't be terminated because he develops an inappropriate relationship with his boss?"

I hadn't thought about it like that. What if I was some evil, vindictive bitch who would do that? He didn't know that I wasn't. I would just have to convince him of my true personality. But that was easier said than done. Could I bare my soul to another soul like I never had in my life. My fate depended on the fact that I could. If I couldn't, I was sure that I would be lonely for the rest of my existence.

**AN: Does this Edward seem familiar? One step forward, two steps back.**

**Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

EPOV

It was so difficult to separate my personal life from my work life when this angel had inserted herself into both. When we were in class together, or studying in the library together, I felt free to be myself, and I think she did too. I never believed in love at first sight, but after I saw her in the boardroom of that god awful accounting firm, I did. I just never knew that it would be so difficult to get to my happy ending. Work got in the way. I had to keep professional. I knew that any move I made had to be done outside of work because within it, there were all sorts of ways things could go horribly wrong.

My dad sat me down when I was 15, about to start my first job. I was going to be a 'checkout operator' or checkout dick (as opposed to checkout chick) as many of my school friends said. He spoke to me about work ethics and safety, but the one thing that stuck with me was a story he told me about something that happened to his friend at his first job. His friend, Evan, had a crush on this girl that they both worked with. He was so sure that she liked him that one day, he walked up to her and put his arm around her. She freaked out and Evan got fired.

The point is that he was very careful after that, and I took his story to heart. I knew that no matter how sure I was about how a woman felt about me, I had to approach it sensitively, and never ever in the workplace. That's why, no matter how comfortable I became in Bella's presence at school, as soon as we were back in her office, in her house, she was no longer Bella in my eyes, she became Ms Cullen.

But oh, what a joy it was to work for her. Of course, I already knew that she was a smart, business savvy individual, but in working for her, I learned that she was also kind, considerate, gentle, thoughtful and thorough. Although many people in her position may have become hard, ruthless or just plain nasty, she worked with the same compassion that I saw her treat her family with. She was just as compassionate toward me, giving me the night off if she thought that I needed it to complete an assignment, or if we had worked late a few nights in a row.

The work that she gave me, although not technically accounting, was exactly what I enjoyed doing with my skills. I knew that if any university in the world offered 'how to run a corporation 101', I would be taking it, but alas, none did. The closest I could ever get was learning from Bella and I was so thankful to her for giving me this job that I became all the more strict with myself, vowing that I wouldn't screw it up.

Keeping my control became just that much harder when she began to blur the lines even more. One day after school, she came to my apartment to get some Japanese comics I had. She was learning at an alarming rate and other than going to Japan, which she had planned for the summer holidays, reading the literature was the next best thing. She was just standing around, when she noticed the small electronic keyboard I kept in the lounge room.

"Do you play the piano, Edward?"

Oh God, let this angel speak my name again! Every time she says my name, my head goes in a spin and I forget everything. Like the question that she just asked me.

"The what?" I asked her, eyes glazed.

"Piano, Edward" she giggled. Again my brain turned to mush.

I shook myself out of it, but only partially effectively. "Um, yeah. Classical pieces mainly. A few of my own compositions."

"Wow! You compose? My mother always used to try to play but she was never very good. I tried piano lessons, but gave up after a while."

This angel on the piano? Aside from the image of Bella laying across a glossy black baby grand, the idea of her even playing was a sensual one. I had to force the idea out of my mind; we weren't working, but it was still creepy.

"You should try again... it really is great and you are such a quick learner."

She nodded. "Maybe I will, one of these days."

I quickly brought the subject back to the reason she was here. "I'll just go grab the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' comics. Are you sure you only want them in Japanese? I have them in English as well."

She smiled. "Just Japanese. I know I'll cheat if I have them in English."

I laughed. "OK then, I'll be back in a sec."

She nodded and got out her iPhone, no doubt checking her emails.

She was on the phone when I got back and she took the bag I had placed them in from me on the tip of her pinky; I had to use my whole hand to carry that bag, she must be in pain. I tried to take it back, to help her, but she waved me off and breezed out the door, expecting me to follow.

We went back to her place and it was back to work for the day.

**A/N: I hope you liked it in EPOV, lala122 suggested it in a review and when I was trying to write this chapter, it just seemed right, so thank you lala122.**

**So sorry for the delay. I don't post on the weekends, they're always too crazy. I had an exam on Tuesday so thats why I didn't post Monday or Tuesday. I also have the flu so that's why I didn't post yesterday... I have 2 more exams- Monday and Wednesday of next week so in terms of then I'll post next Thursday or Friday. There is something that may happen which will stop me from posting Thursday. Everything goes back to normal after that, since it's holidays, maybe I'll be able to write even more! I just wanted you all to know that... so thanks :)**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

BPOV

Alice.

That little pixie fairy devil.

I couldn't believe she had actually talked me into this.

I guess that the only way she actually managed it was by reminding me that she was the future knowing pixie of the family. And that no one wins a bet against her. I should have risked it, because the situation that her plan put me in was beyond mortifying.

I had to ask Edward out. Not a date, but not work... Yeah... How do I swing that, pixie?

The only plan I could come up with was this charity benefit that the family usually attends. I heard Alice squeal from outside where she was up to her elbows in purple fabric dye. "That will work!" she exclaimed. In my minds eye I could see her train of thought change tracks and was rewarded with "This one will be for you Bells, I know blue is better on you, but just think! Amethyst chiffon!" I huffed quietly. "I heard that! Look, just trust me, OK? It will be great! I promise! He will be head over heels with you by the end of the night."

"Mmm" I grumbled. "Look, I still have to ask. It won't be pretty, but I'll just do what I usually do, when in doubt, blame Alice."

"I can hear you smirking missy!" She yelled back at me. I wouldn't be surprised if she gave Jasper permission to mess with my emotions at some embarrassing time. I hoped it wouldn't be at the benefit. Oh well, I knew that Emmett and I could come up with something together if it was necessary.

I just had to work out what I was going to say. Just to piss Alice off, I thought of this scenario.

"_My family attends the Cancer Research benefit every year and Alice got sick of me going alone. I thought I'd see if you'd come with me because she threatened to hire an escort if I couldn't find my own plus one."_

"Isabella Marie Swan Cullen!!! If you do that I am going to tear your arm off and hold it hostage for a week!" I heard fabric ripping and liquid sloshing and she screeched when she realized what she had done when the inattention caused by her vision was coupled with her anger.

I chuckled and decided against it, vanishing the vision that had caused her outrage. Rosalie sauntered in just at that moment and raised her eyebrow, begging to know what I had done to cause Alice to lose her cool like that.

I repeated the vision that I had planted in Alice's head to Rosalie and she laughed heartily, which was a sight. Emmett and Jasper, who had been just downstairs playing the Wii- which may I add, was the most hilarious sight I had ever seen. Vampires playing Wario Smooth Moves- obviously heard what I had said, because they both came up the stairs at vampire speeds and I was instantly crushed into a patented Emmett bear hug. This was the usual reaction after one of us had successfully pulled a great practical joke.

After all the laughs, though, the fact remained that I had to actually ask. I decided to do it the next day in the library after our classes were finished. This had become a tradition between us and it was something that I really enjoyed. This time felt most like he was my friend, but always there was the possibility of becoming more.

I had no idea how to approach this but I knew that I had to do it in the library because if I left it until afterwards, when we were working, he would take it, not only as a work thing, but also as an obligation. And so, just because I was dreading it, it came quicker and suddenly I found myself in the library in a couch across from Edward.

"Bella, where did you go? You look spaced."

"Sorry" If I could have blushed, I would have. "I was just thinking about something Alice threatened me with. Um," again with the mental blushing. "It involves you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, basically, there's this benefit that we go to as a family and I never have a date. Alice suggested that I ask you. It would make our family more complete." Ha! I managed to blame Alice anyway.

But what would he say?

**A/N: Isn't it exciting? I now have an alpha :) (still looking for a beta people) Amber 90210 is now my alpha and I think we worked it out quite well in that as long as I stay on top of the game, you will get your updates every day, just like usual (except for those specified times laid out last post- for those who missed it, next Monday through Thursday {Yes, Thursday has been confirmed}). I love intercontinental time differences. Anyway, thanks so much Amber 90210 for helping me out with this chapter and hopefully many more to come.**

**For those who don't know what the Wii is, please go back to living under your rock- Sorry if that sounded rude, it's just an awesome game console. Really though, if for some reason you actually don't know what it is, it is a game console made by Nintendo- those awesome people who made the SNEZ and the Nintendo64... really, anyone who doesn't know what that is needs to catch the next available time machine to the 90's, walk into the nearest house and look for what the kids are attached to... anyway, I'm rambling... the Wii is a gaming console that has wireless controls which basically run on real time movement, AKA, point at the screen and move the pointer. In certain games, though, movements made by you (with the controller attached to your hand) mirror what you would actually do. Wii sports is a great example. Boxing or golf or baseball or bowling, all have the same general principle, although it is a bit like playing singstar. If you want to win singstar, you don't necessarily sing the right notes, you just try to match yourself to the bars on the screen... it's like that on the Wii, you adjust according to how the console interprets your movements. I always thought that it would be funny watching vampires playing the Wii but since the console won't interpret the data if you move too fast they would probably find most of it frustrating. Onto laughing at Emmett.**

**Wario. Ah Wario. It must be one of the funniest party games to ever grace the Wii. It can only be on the Wii, just because of how ridiculous it is. Wario smooth moves is a game made up of minigames in which you learn different positions (e.g. the waiter, you lay the Wii-mote on your hand, the Elephant, you attach it to the end of your nose, the pencil, you hold it like a pencil, the mohawk, you lay it on the center of your head, the samurai, you lay it at your hip, ready to draw on a moments notice, etc...). You get about a seconds notice of the position and then within each position there are different minigames (e.g. the pencil, you could have to draw a circle, chip away at all the rock as if it were a chisel, guide a ball through a maze). Basically try watching someone play this and keep a straight face, I guarantee it is impossible. Now just imagine Emmett doing the elephant, trying to pick up an apple from the other side of the screen.**

**You're laughing with me, right?**

**Please review!!**

**Even just review to tell me that you laughed :D**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters**

EPOV

_Did she just ask me out?_

A hundred different things were running through my head as I took in what she just said. Not the least of which was attempting to interpret her meaning. Was she asking me on a date? Or was it a work thing? Was she just asking because I was her assistant or was she attracted to me.

_Yeah, like Bella 'the Goddess' Cullen would be attracted to me._

Scrap that idea. But really, was she asking me out or was this purely a work thing. I would usually just come out and ask for all the information before I agreed to something like that, but what if that offended her?

Of course, all this took only a few seconds too consider, but it was a few seconds too long. She looked saddened and I ended up word vomiting attempting to get it all cleared up.

"I'm not saying no, I am definitely not. I'm just trying to work out what this means." I rubbed my forehead, attempting to rub away thoughts of everything else. I had to concentrate on not making a fool of myself. I hadn't done a good job so far. "OK, I just need to know one thing."

She nodded and I felt a pang at how saddened she still looked. "Has this got anything to do with work?"

She breathed a sigh, I think, of relief and laughed her musical laugh. The sound of pealing bells has never been more joyful to me.

"No, Edward. You can refuse if you don't want to go. I asked because you're my friend." She squirmed a little and I sat, amazed. I never thought that angels could be uncomfortable. "There is actually a secondary reason."

I must have looked worried, because she laughed again and got to the point. "Alice may or may not have threatened my motorbike."

I laughed with her this time. "So you're asking me out to save your bike?"

_Oh My God! What was I thinking? Did I just suggest that Bella asked me out? Great one Mason, talk about a broken brain filter!_

"It is a pretty special bike. It's actually one of a kind."

We got onto the safer topic and it was forgotten until about 5pm when we decided to leave the library.

"So, um, did you decide if you'd come?" She said without looking me in the eyes.

_How cute, she's nervous. Why is she nervous? She just said something. What did she say? Shit! I have to decide if I'm going to the benefit. Right, benefit. With Bella. Oh! Bella will be there._

"Yes, I'll go."

_Did I just say that? OK... Right. Um... Details. Work it out. Be calm. In control of the conversation._

"So is this black tie?"

She grimaced. "Yeah." Then she looked horrified. "OK, I'm going to tell you something. Please don't panic."

I nodded, very confused. What could she tell me that was worse than black tie? As it was, I would have to hire or buy a penguin suit.

"Alicewantstodressyou." She blurted out.

I barked out a short laugh before stopping it. It ended up a snort.

_Great, I just barked and snorted. In front of Bella. Bella my friend. Bella my boss. Possibly Bella my date. Another point to Mason on the Stupid Awards scoreboard!_

"OK, I'll try that again. Alice wants to dress you. She says she wants to tailor you a tux."

I grimaced. "Wow, that is pretty bad." I joked with her. It didn't really matter to me. As it turns out, I ended up getting paid for the time Alice was turning me into one of her masterpieces because she _insisted_ on doing it immediately after she found out.

We arrived at the Cullen house and she was bouncing at the door.

"Yes Alice. He is coming and you can make him a tux."

_Right, make... not buy and alter. I really shouldn't be surprised. I do the books for her fashion business. _

Her enthusiasm stayed level.

_Shouldn't she have gotten more excited now that she knows? Not that there is a higher state of excitement than the one she is in._

I brushed it off. Then I got scared.

"Stay right here, Edward." She pulled me into the lounge and positioned me in the center of three angled mirrors. On a platform. I also saw a makeshift change room.

_This wasn't here last night. But she had this ready. How did she know I'd even agree to go to the benefit?_

It was then I saw Emmett trudge down the stairs in a toile of a tux.

_Stupid Bloody Itchy Material!_

_Wait! I didn't think that! I also don't think in capitals._

I brushed it off as soon as I thought of a great way to pay Alice out. I was standing on the platform, but realized that she would be too short to reach past my waist. Mockingly I knelt with my arms out. Everyone just laughed.

Alice came flouncing back in. She narrowed her eyes at my ridiculous position. Then smiled evilly and held up what I now think of as an instrument of torture. I never found measuring tapes scary until I saw her holding one.

A couple of hours later, I, like Emmett, was trapped in the toile of a tuxedo.

_Shit, this material IS itchy._

"Earth to Edward!" I jumped looking around for the source of the voice. Bella.

"If you like, you can go home. Alice is making dresses for all us girls and tuxes for all the boys. She's going to be needing me for a fitting soon, plus, I'm apparently her packhorse for all that material she has stored in her sewing room."

Bella had been bringing Alice every material that she requested. For reference, while she was sticking pins into my tux, and thankfully not into me, she was arguing with Rosalie about the merits of a Silk Chiffon versus Georgette. I lost track of all the materials they spoke of after that, but then the conversation changed when Rosalie couldn't decide between red, black or silver. Bella fetched every material that they asked for. Some of the rolls looked so heavy that I tried to go help her, but Alice shot me daggers when I even attempted to move. I figured that was best, not only for fear of the pixie, but also because all I was wearing was what Alice had pinned on to me.

I nodded and was about to go change into some actual clothes when Emmett spoke up. "Actually, if you want to stay, Jasper, Carlisle and I were going to watch the game." I had been looking forward to that game and was planning on watching it when I got home.

"One condition, Emmett."

He looked startled and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Got any beers?"

He clapped his hands and grinned. We all got out of the hideously itchy tuxes and settled in front of the TV. Esme, Alice, Bella and Rosalie stayed in the other part of the room working on their dresses.

I enjoyed my night and felt almost like part of the family, but always in the back of my mind;_ where does this leave us?_

**AN: I just have to chuckle. I wrote the above in an hour, which is fast for me... I read fast but it usually takes a long time for me to get coherent stuff on the page when I'm writing... I am seriously psyched about finishing my last exam. It happened today. YAY... it's over. I guess I'm channeling all that energy into writing... For all you irony lovers out there, my exam consisted of writing about 3000 words in 2 hours... hand written... ouch!**

**Health check... I STILL have the bloody flu! And to top it off, adjuca-binus... this is a rare and often deadly form of conjunctivitis... it isn't really, it's just that my gorgeous 3 year old brother can't say conjunctivitis... cute huh? lol... adjunca-binus :P cracks me up every time...**

**A quick shout out to Amber 90210 because she is awesome and alpha'd this chapter... Thanks :D… everyone has to check out her story Vice Versa… it's still in the works and guess who is the beta??? :P She's my alpha, I'm her beta… omg! She's Jacob and I'm Leah… my middle name is Leah :D (just so you know, this is the "exams are over adrenaline rush" talking)**

**So anyway... pleeeeease review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Bella Cullen**

Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its characters**

BPOV

"I can't believe you made me drink beer for that dude! He's awesome, but I was puking for ages!"

"Emmett, shut the hell up or I'll have you eating dogfood" Rosalie threatened.

I sat in the lounge with my laptop, listening to Emmet; I couldn't help but roll my eyes. He'd done nothing but complain about having to drink beer for the last hour and I was getting more and more frustrated by the moment. An idle thought crossed my mind, causing Alice to burst into giggles.

'Don't you dare,' she threatened me from acoss the room once her laughter had subsided. 'I worked too hard on his tux for you to paint anything on it.'

We spent that day just relaxing, watching sports, playing internet poker; we played 2 of us Cullens per table, hustling the poor humans out of their money. I felt a little bad, but we really weren't doing anything illegal, or even extraordinary, just calculating our odds; fast.

After winning about $400,000 from some guy named Phil Ivy, we shut up our laptops and the boys turned on the game while us girls went to get ready. Alice had, strangely, put me in a prototype dressing gown she had whipped up out of the shredded amethyst chiffon she had accidentally ripped the other day. I was last in line to get dressed, although I didn't mind.

We all helped Esme with her hair, makeup and outfit. Her dress was a royal blue sweetheart style sheath. Below the knees it became a swirling mass of material which would flair for a good 2 feet out from her, if she spun fast enough.

Next was Rosalie, who had decided on the red georgette; out of character she had chosen a conservative, floor length Grecian style dress which used plaited material for the thrice crossed belt and shoulder straps. Alice and I had spent ages plaiting the two strands of matching georgette with the one strand of satin. The effect that it achieved was subtle yet interesting.

Alice designed, for herself, a gold and purple corset dress which used the juxtaposition of the opposing colours to draw attention away from her luminous white skin. Although the style of the civil war was well out of fashion, Alice managed to bring some of the elements of the style from Jasper's time into the design of the dress with a small bustle.

While Alice was getting ready, the doorbell rang and I went to answer it.

"Edward." I greeted him. He beamed in return.

"Oh Bella, you look amazing!" I ushered him in the door as I laughed.

"Edward, I'm not even dressed yet."

He looked embarrassed for a moment. "Then I guess you look amazing, even in your robe." He said confidently, and then blushed deeply. I almost sighed; the sight was so beautiful.

Once I snapped out of admiring his blush, I remembered what he said. If I were human, I could have blushed.

"I have to go and get dressed now. The rest of the men are in the lounge. They should start getting ready soon, so they'll show you where your tux is and where you can change."

"Thank you", he said.

I nodded. "See you soon."

**AN: I'd just like to start with an apology... I'm sorry to everyone who has been waiting for an update... So it's been nearly 3 months since my last update... I really do hate having to wait for the next chapter of my favourite stories, so I'm sorry to anyone who feels that way about mine... (and THANK YOU it is an absolute honour if you do!!! :D)**

**Now, for the explanation... My depression has gotten the best of me in the last few weeks and I've a) been trying to fix all that I've stuffed up with my moods, as well as get help in the form of getting the hell out of my parents house (one depressed and stressed parent + one depressed, angry, stressed, depressed, moody, writers-blocked 19 year old... not so good...) and b) trying to rack my brains as to where the hell Edward and Bella are... I know that a lot of people on this site write and y'all will know that it can be hard to write when your head is all over the place because of the fact that if your head is all over the place, how can your characters be coherent?**

**Another setback came in the form of my laptop- the only place beside a few internet spaces on which this fanfic was stored- decided to delete my most used folder... e.g. the one which I had all my writing- including some irreplaceable short stories, this fanfic and the first 10 or so chapters of my novel-, editing- some edited but unsent chapters for some of my wonderful friends on this site- and reference- my E-book copies of twilight and Harry Potter-... So yeah. NOT COOL EEEEEEEPC XANDER... *SULK***

**And in a roundabout way, I get to my point. I'm sorry everyone, for getting this to you so late... and after reading what I just wrote, my rambling too... **

**On a happier note, I have 2 jobs and a new place to live :) hopefully I also have cured my writers block... thanks to my very special friend, Duskborn, for stealing my laptop while I left the cafe to get free fairy floss (cotton candy for all you Americans) and writing the bit about painting on Emmett's tux. I'll have you know what is published is not actually what he wrote, mainly coz it had many errors in. LOL... I'm a grammar Nazi :P**

**Also, one last note... one reviewer, fleur24 asked what the Cullen family business was... basically it's everything... they invest, have hedge funds, own internet companies, own companies that own companies that own things like the New York Times or Harrods or Wal-Mart... just everything... they also help other vampires invest their money soundly... so yeah...**

**Thanks so so so much to my wonderful alphas Amber90210 and Duskborn... and thanks to Duskborn for beta-ing too :)**

**Enjoy and review!! :D**


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